There and Back Again
by Lipton Lee
Summary: Seven cycles after Bad Timing the dren hits the fan.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I wish I owned John. Unfortunately, he ain't mine. Ah well.  
Notes: Take place seven cycles after Bad timing. I may or may not finish this all the way, but I'd like to have some feedback on the first part, at least. Thanks :)  
There and Back Again  
  
The light.   
  
For a long moment that is all he seas. But it eventually dies down to a dull glow, and when he is able to size up his surroundings, he finds that there are none.  
  
He blinks blue eyes against the brightness. "Aeryn?"   
  
When he receives no reply he sighs.   
  
He looks himself over. He still wears the leather pants and soft black t-shirt he'd been wearing when…  
  
No white robes. No halo. No harp. No wings. Heaven must have had a budget cut.   
  
As he thinks this, he hears a voice call his name, but it is not Aeryn's.   
  
His mind goes numb. "Mom?"  
  
She appears out of nowhere, a smile on her face. She's glad to see him.  
  
He tries to take a step forward, to go to her like he had when he was toddler, taking his first steps in the living room of their home in North Carolina. A warm hand grips his arm gently, stopping him.   
  
He turns and stares at the blue face. Her expression is kind, almost piteous.   
  
"Zaahn?"  
  
"John, what are you doing here?" she asks, he voice soft.   
  
"I died," he tells her.  
  
"You can't be here yet," she says. "It is not your time."  
  
"Why not?" he asks, feeling like a small child, all of the sudden.  
  
"Because you're needed," she replies. "Aeryn needs you. D'Argo, Chiana, Rygel, Stark, Pilot. The baby."  
  
His eyes stray to his feet. "The baby."   
  
Her hand moves from his arm to his cheek. "You'll get your happy ending, yet, John."  
His eyes meet hers again, and he fights to hold back the tears. "Please," he begs her. "Please, Zaahn, I-"  
  
"John," she interrupts. "Do you love Aeryn?"   
  
He blinks. The question, to him, seems ridiculous. How could she ask that? All at once, he feels his mind clear up and relax. He nods at his old friend. Of course he does.  
  
"She's waiting for you," Zaahn tells him. "It's rude to keep her waiting." She begins to try and walk away, but he grabs her hand. She stares into his hurting eyes.   
  
"I miss you," he says.  
  
She smiles and takes the two steps to lay a kiss on his forehead. "You won't."  
  
Another bright flash of light hits him, and his world goes black.  
The first thing that comes back to him is his sense of smell, and then he feels a hand go through his hair, and warm breath on his face.   
  
He opens his eyes and they focus slowly on her worried face.  
  
"Aeryn?" 


	2. All Good Children

Disclaimer: Not mine. Sigh.  
  
Notes: Yes this Sarah is the same Sarah from the other story. You wanted to know where she came from…   
There and Back Again Pt. 2: All Good Children   
They sit in the cell in silence.   
  
He can tell she's been crying but she won't tell him why. He's got a pretty damned good idea, though.   
  
She looks empty. Blue eyes avoiding his at all costs.  
  
She lost their baby.   
  
But he doesn't blame her. He can't. He loves her too much.  
  
He looks around at their surroundings and realizes how standard issue their cell is.   
  
Peacekeeper.   
  
A part of him, the part that hung out with D'Argo far too much wants to break everything. Wants to scream, wants to cry. He does nothing. He sits and stares into the dimness, feeling his entire being go numb.   
  
He sees her eyes blink, and her ear perk up only slightly.   
  
"Aeryn?"  
  
"Someone's here," she tells him in a hushed voice.   
  
He hears small footsteps and a small "oof" as someone stumbles in the darkness.   
After so long, he can't believe she is still his commanding officer. He can't believe he's still just a frelling captain. But what should he expect?   
  
She glares at him from behind her desk now, looking as if she may burst. "What do you mean 'he's gone'?"   
  
He sighs under his breath. "He's gone. He slipped out from under his guards and we cannot find him."  
  
She glares harder, her eyes twitches slightly. "Find him."   
  
"We're doing everything we can, Mum," he replies. "He's slippery."   
  
"I don't care, Braca," she spits. "He's only seven cycles old. He can't have gone far. Find him."   
  
Braca nods at Commandant Mele-On Grayza, turns on his heels, and leaves.   
"We don't know where she came from, D'Argo!" Chiana cries. "We've had her for seven cycles but we don't even know how it's possible that she exists! Aeryn died long before she could have had the baby!"  
  
"It doesn't matter," the Luxan tells her. "She is John and Aeryn's, therefore she is our responsibility."   
  
"And what happens when she starts asking questions that we don't have the answers to?" Chiana snaps. "We picked her up off of a a command carrier, which means we gotta find Scorpius."   
  
"I won't even tell you who you sound like," D'Argo says, raising his hands.  
  
Chiana groans in frustration and follows him down Moya's corridors. "What if-"  
  
"What if what, Chiana?!" D'Argo asks, stopping abruptly. She nearly slams into him, and she can tell he's getting angry. Again. "They're dead. They're not coming back. Scorpius will kill us!"   
  
"We don't have anything he wants anymore!" Chiana yells. "We don't know dren about wormholes! He wouldn't blink an eye at us unless Sarah inherited the knowledge from John."  
  
"John is dead!" D'Argo yells back, his face turning red. "Aeryn is dead! They've been dead for seven cycles, Chiana! Let them be dead!"   
  
They argue without realizing that the small girl they heatedly debate about is standing around a corner, listening. She doesn't understand. She can't. As far as everyone aboard Moya is concerned, she appeared to them out of thin air. She doesn't have real parents and she isn't allowed into the room she knew was her fathers when he was alive. She runs in the opposite direction from her Uncle D'Argo and Aunt Chiana. She doesn't know what else to do.   
John gets to his feet slowly, and looks around in the darkness. He sees nothing. "Anybody out there?" he asks quietly. They can't both being hearing things. He's the only one who hears things. He's the crazy one.   
  
There's a knock on a part of the cell door, which is set like a spider web, John realizes. He looks up to see someone climbing the door. John squints his eyes and realizes their new friend isn't much older than six cycles old. He can't make out the boy's features, but he's relieved that the youngster probably won't eat them.   
  
"Hey, there, Buddy. Wanna come down here and talk to me for a minute?"   
  
The boy stares down for a moment before climbing his way back down to the floor. He stares at John with a serious expression.  
  
"Hi," John says. "Can you understand me?"   
  
The boy nods.   
  
"Good," John says. "Good. That's great. What's your name?"   
  
"He doesn't have one," Aeryn says.   
  
John blinks and turns to her, looking like the confused human he's always been. "What?"   
  
"Can't you see it, John?" she asks in a whisper.   
  
"Inferior eyesight, Aeryn," John reminds her. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the crackers."   
  
Aeryn gets to her feet and walks to stand next to John. She kneels in front of the boy. "He looks just like you," she says, giving the boy a smile. "Do you know me?"  
  
The boy nods slowly.   
  
John blinks at Aeryn, and then at the boy. He still can't see very well. He thinks he understands what she's getting at, but he can't quite wrap his mind around it. 'If the boy is who I thinks Aeryn thinks he is,' John thinks, 'that means we've lost seven frelling cycles.'   
  
Seven cycles.  
  
Seven cycles of being nothing. Not dead. Not alive.   
  
What happened?!   
  
"Figure it out, John!"   
  
All at once he's on Moya.   
  
He glares harshly. "Go away, Harvey."  
  
"The Peacekeepers had you neutralized," Harvey states.  
  
"Meaning?"   
  
"Meaning they blasted the both of you into tiny bits and saved you for later. Not living. Not dead. Not anything. Tiny bits, John."  
  
He shakes his head out as he realizes the lights have come on. His eyes shoot directly to the boy on the other side of the cell.   
  
Huge, blue eyes. Messy brown hair. It's almost like looking at an old photograph of himself.   
  
John snaps out of his daze when the boy starts to climb the cell door again.   
  
John smiles at the reason for the boy's fear. "Braca! Good to see you, man! Give us a kiss!"   
Tweak, tweak. Fix, fix.  
  
"D'Argo."  
  
"Not now, Chiana."  
  
Tweak, tweak.  
  
"D'Argo get your frelling ass up to command! NOW!"   
  
He sighs and backs away from Lo'Lan. "Yes, Dear. Coming, Dear. Right away, Dear. At your service, Dear."   
  
He makes his to command, where Chiana is looking out the view screen, along with Stark and Rygel.   
  
They watch a Peacekeeper command carrier intently.   
  
D'Argo reads his lover's thoughts as if they were his own. "Chiana…"  
  
"This could be our shot," she tells him, still staring at the carrier. "We could find out everything about Sarah, and what happened to John and Aeryn. We've been waiting seven cycles for this!"   
  
"Chiana, no," D'Argo says gently. "This is a bad idea."   
  
"Every idea someone onboard Moya has ever come up with has been a bad idea," she points out. "We still went along with it."   
  
"Chiana, we're going to get killed," D'Argo says.  
  
"Maybe," she replies with a devious smirk. "Maybe not. You got the Mivonks to find out?" 


	3. Just Plain Frelled Sometimes

There and Back Again: Just plain frelled sometimes   
  
Braca looks up at the boy. "Come down from there this instant. It isn't safe."   
  
The boy rolls his eyes and stays where he is.   
  
'Snarky for a seven-year old,' John thinks.   
  
"Come now," Braca calls again. "Come down."   
  
"Frell you," the boy replies.   
  
John snorts aloud against his better judgment, and earns himself a harsh glare from Braca.  
  
"You think this is funny?" Braca snaps. "That's your-"   
  
He stops before he can say it, and John's lips twist into a smirk.   
  
"My what?" John asks. "My… dog? My goldfish?"   
  
Braca says nothing. He's stiff as a board. He's really beginning to hate his job.   
  
And then the last thing John expects happens.   
  
The boy lets Braca have his way. He jumps down and lands right on the captain, who falls to the ground with a loud cry of surprise.   
  
John can't help but smile with pride. No doubts linger in his mind anymore. This boy is his.   
  
Braca slowly gets to his feet and reaches for his pulse rifle to find it gone. He glances at the boy, who is carrying it the best he can in his small arms.   
  
"Oh, no you don't," Braca warns. "Give me my rifle!"   
  
The boy sticks out his tongue and glares harshly.  
  
"He's got your tongue," John tells Aeryn.   
  
She only shakes her head, and John can tell that seeing the little boy has had a profound effect on her.   
  
He places an arm around her and kisses her forehead. "We'll get outta this."   
  
The boy throws the rifle through a hole in the cell door, and John smiles. "Atta boy!"   
  
+++  
  
They're spotted right as they land.   
  
D'Argo finds that he just can't be surprised.  
  
So they run for their felling lives. Again.   
  
Chiana feels that she's a bit out of practice for this. They've been running for seven cycles. They haven't stood their ground and come up with a plan since…  
  
Which is why they don't have a plan as they run through the command carrier.   
  
They are both impulsive, and they know it. Without Zaahn, without Aeryn, without Crichton, they are off balance.   
  
And so they run.   
+++  
  
Pilot's den is always a dim place. She's likes to play there, and she feels safe because she can talk to Moya.   
  
Today she has been told that she is to remain in Pilot's den until her Aunt Chiana and Uncle D'Argo return.   
  
"Where did they go?" she asks.   
  
Pilots sighs. He's never had any patience for her constant questioning, but at least he doesn't lash out like Rygel.   
  
"They went to test a theory, Sarah," he tells her. "They'll be back soon."   
  
"Why do I have to stay here?" she asks.   
  
"They want you to be safe," Pilot tells her. "If something goes wrong, they wanted you to be here in good hands."   
  
"Because Stark's hands are crazy hands and Rygel's hands are too small?" she asks.  
  
"Yes," Pilot replies. "And Moya likes your company."   
  
She smiles, finally satisfied with an answer and leans back against the consol.   
  
+++  
  
She looks over the two boys with wonder. So alike. So Frelling alike.  
  
She shakes her head out slightly as she leads John out of the cell. She can't think about that now. There will be plenty of time to sort out muddled emotions when they get out. If they get out. "Alright. You two go that way," she points them in a certain direction. "And I'll go the other way."  
  
"What are we looking for?" John asks.  
  
"A way out," she replies. "What we're always looking for. We'll meet back here in half an arn."   
  
"Wait," John says sharply.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How come you get the gun?"   
  
She blinks, and stares at the standard issue Peacekeeper pulse rifle in her hands. "Because I'm the lady." With that, she stalked off in the other direction.  
  
John shakes his head as he watches her walk out of sight. "Right. Okay." He turns to the boy and sighs. "You need a name."   
  
The boy looks a little taken aback by this. Not what he's expecting. "Why?"  
  
John smirks. "Hey! He speaks! Alright. You need a name because… well, everybody should have a name. What do they call you now?"  
  
"Boy," he replies, looking down sheepishly.   
  
John sighs and shakes his head. "How 'bout… John Junior?" He disregarded the fact the his name was John Junior. It doesn't matter now. He's the only John in deep space now.  
  
The boy wrinkles his nose. "You're gonna call me that?"  
  
"How about we shorten it?" John suggested. "How about J.J?"   
  
The boy blinks and smiles. "Okay."   
  
John smiles back and pats J.J lightly on the shoulder. "Good. Now let's try and get outta here."   
  
They run in the direction they were ordered to and John slams right into a rock-hard chest covered in red cloth. 


	4. A Little Annoyed

There and Back Again: A Little Annoyed  
  
After John and the boy leave Aeryn comes back to find that Braca has come too from being knocked out.   
  
She kicks him in the teeth and he falls back against the wall, his nose bleeding.   
  
She pulls out the pulse rifle and aims at his head. "Say good-bye, Braca."   
  
"why are doing this?" he asks quietly.  
  
"Because you killed John."  
  
"Aeryn-"   
  
He doesn't finish. The ring on her finger glints as she whips up the rifle and slams the but of it to his forehead. She leaves and heads to where she remembers all main offices are on Peacekeeper command carriers. Anyone who gets in her way winds up dead.   
  
It doesn't matter. She can't feel regret.   
  
+++  
  
He lifts his hands in surrender. "D'Argo, it's me!"  
  
D'Argo hisses violently, pointing his Qualta blade, and a pulse pistol that looks all too familiar at John.   
  
J.J hides behind John's legs, hoping that maybe they will protect him.  
  
"Prove it," D'Argo growls. "Tell me something only John would know."  
  
He's annoyed now. Annoyed at being killed. Annoyed at being brought back. Just annoyed. He crosses his arms over his chest. "I know you're using Winona, and I know I don't like it."   
  
D'Argo falters, lowering the pistol a little. "John…?"  
  
The human looks crazed in his annoyance now. "Gimme Winona, D." He takes a step forward and D'Argo lifts Winona up again.  
  
"I'm not kidding," John warns. "You give me Winona, or your gonna git it."   
  
D'Argo glares, adrenaline taking over. "Try it, human."   
  
John roars, and charges the Luxan, jumping on him, knocking him over and taking his weapon from his grinning friend. D'Argo laughs as the human kisses his weapon.   
  
"It's really you."  
  
"you were expecting Mickey Mouse?" John smiles.   
  
Before either can get to their feet, a booted foot slams into John's face, knocking him over.   
  
Chiana slides down, straddling him, holding her pistol to his head.   
  
"Chiana, wait!" D'Argo yells.  
  
J.J takes a step forward, not quite certain what he's supposed to do now.   
  
"Hiya, Pip," John says, smiling dazedly. "We haven't been in this position in a long time. Is it good for you?"   
  
Chiana seems shocked by his words and glances back at D'Argo, who is getting to his feet.   
  
"It's him," D'Argo tells her.   
  
"How do you know?" Chiana snaps. "How do you know he's not one of those creepy clones?"   
  
"Because Crackers don't matter."   
  
Her gaze whips back to the man under her. "Crichton?"  
  
John nods, he's getting annoyed again. "Morning."   
  
She doesn't care how this is possible. She's just happy to see him. She grabs him by the shirt and pushes her lips on his, just to make sure she's awake.   
  
When she pulls away, John smiles. "Don't tell Aeryn about that. She's the one with the gun."   
  
D'Argo's and Chiana's eyes widen with surprise and both voice the same thing.  
  
"Aeryn?"   
  
+++  
  
"Hello, Sukozu. It's been a very long time."   
  
Frightened blue eyes stare into hardened ones.   
  
"Aeryn?"   
  
She says nothing. Only points the rifle. "I've been waiting seven cycles for this, Sikozu. What did Crichton always call it? Karma, yes?"   
  
"Aeryn, please. It wasn't my fault," Sikozu pleads. "Please."   
  
The former Peacekeeper does not seem to listen. She slams the but of her rifle into Sikozu's face as she did with Braca. "It's isn't you I want," she says.   
  
+++  
  
"So who's the kid?"   
  
John sighs. "Promise you won't look at me like I'm crazy?"   
  
Chiana shakes her head. "Nope."  
  
"He's my son," John tells her. "At least, I think he is… he looks like he is… Aeryn's pretty convinced."   
  
"Where is Aeryn?" D'Argo asks, covering them from behind, his Qualta blade up in the air.   
  
Chiana looks back at the boy. "What's his name?"  
  
"J.J," John tells her.   
  
She turns around and looks down at the boy, then back at John. "Frell," she whispers. "He's yours… but what about Sarah?"   
  
John blinks, confused. "Who's Sarah?"   
  
TBC 


	5. Run For Your Life If You Can

There and Back Again: Run For Your Life If You Can  
  
They reach the cell block that Aeryn had ordered as their meeting place and find it empty.  
  
"Damn!" John cries, looking around. "Where the hell is Aeryn?"  
  
"Where's the boy?" D'Argo asks.   
  
John blinks, and looks around, finding that the young boy is nowhere in sight. "Damn!"  
  
+++  
  
Cooling rods.   
  
He's known what they are since he was three.   
  
It's been a life long dream to steel them. Just for fun.  
  
He's either going to get away or die today, and his mind is made up that if he ever wants to have a shot, it's going to have to be now.   
  
He reaches an arm out very slowly, and snatches the blue and red sticks. After smiling over his triumph, he runs, headed back to cell block.   
  
He stops as he hears Scorpius' cry of rage from the room, and smiles.  
  
+++  
  
"Commandant Mele-On Grayza."   
  
She looks up.  
  
She can't believe what she sees.   
  
"Aeryn Sun," she says.   
  
"Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?" Aeryn asks, aiming her pulse rifle.   
  
"Oh, yes," Grayza says, rising to her feet. "Yes I did."   
  
+++  
  
He stops when he hears voices from the head office.   
  
Two female voices.  
  
One he's heard in his dreams. One in his nightmares.   
  
He glares as he hears the one from his nightmares.  
  
"Did you really think we'd let you escape?" she asks. "You're going to die here today, Aeryn Sun. And it will be my pleasure to kill you."   
  
He sees Sikozu passed out and spots her pulse pistol, abandoned. She was never any good at using weapons.  
  
He grabs the pistol, trying his best to imitate his father holding it in the air, and sneaks into the office, unnoticed. It's an advantage of being seven cycles, and short.   
  
The Commandant holds up her own pulse rifle, and the two woman are at a stand off.   
  
He holds it like he sees the woman from his dreams holding it. Pointed and ready.   
  
He doesn't mean to shoot. Really. It just happens. He just isn't paying attention and the pistol goes off.   
  
The pulse charge flies through the air and collides with Grayza's hand, which is flung off and hit's the wall.  
  
The Peacekeeper screams.   
  
J.J snorts and snickers a little. "Whoops."   
  
The unharmed woman stares at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asks. "I thought you were with John."  
  
The boy shrugs.   
  
"You shouldn't be shooting people," She tells him. "You're only seven."   
  
"You do."  
  
She smiles. "Do as I say, not as I do."   
  
"You will die here today!" Grayza screams. "All of you!"  
  
J.J rolls his eyes. "She says that to everybody."   
  
Aeryn smiles.  
  
+++  
  
She manages to escape Pilot's watchful eyes and roams Moya freely.   
  
"Sarah!" she hears Stark's voice call. "Sarah, you should not be roaming! You must go back and stay with pilot!"  
  
Sarah sighs. "But… I wanna walk. Can't I walk?" she asks. "Please? Please, please, please, please, please, please-"  
"Alright!" Stark cries.   
  
She smiles. She loves to make Stark freak out a little. She knows it's mean, but she thinks it's fun to watch. "Will you walk with me?"  
  
Stark nods, and they walk through Moya.  
  
"Where did Uncle D'Argo and Aunt Chiana go?" she asks.   
  
"They went to go retrieve some information," Stark tells her as they enter the galley. "They'll be back soon. Don't worry."   
  
"Don't lie to her, Stark," Rygel's voice snaps. "There's no sense in it. They went to find out where you really came from."  
  
Sarah stares. "I cam from…" she doesn't have an answer. She's never thought to ask before, and now the question has been brought up, it stings her harshly.   
  
"Yes, that's right," Rygel taunts, floating toward them. "No one knows where you came from. For all we know, you were created as a spy for the Peacekeepers."   
  
"You're lying," Sarah says, taking a step back.   
  
"You're not really Crichton and Aeryn's, are you?" Rygel asks, venom in his voice. "You're Scorpius'."   
  
Sarah shakes her head. "I'm not."   
  
"Rygel, why are you doing this?" Stark asks with a shake of his head.  
  
The Hynerian only glares.   
  
"Is it because you know?" Stark asks. "You know she is theirs, and you can't accept it."   
  
Rygel says nothing.   
  
Something snaps within her. All at once, she really doesn't know who she is or where she came from. What if she really is Scorpius'? What then?  
  
She's nothing thinking anymore. She picks up a pan from the shelf of cookwear next to her and hurls it at Rygel.   
  
He just dodges it and stares wide-eyed at the girl. "What in Hezmana do you think you're doing?!"  
  
She doesn't reply. She picks up a pot and throws that, too.  
  
"Sarah, stop," Stark says. "Don't do this, Sarah. You have to stop."   
  
She doesn't. She grabs another pan and chucks it at Rygel.   
  
Stark grabs Sarah around the arms, lifts her, and carries her out of the galley.   
  
She doesn't say a word.   
  
+++  
  
"Aeryn?!"  
  
She looks ahead of her to see John, tailed by Chiana and D'Argo.   
  
She smiles at them, and isn't prepared for the quick, fierce embrace she receives from Chiana.   
  
John looks down at J.J. "Where have you been?" he asks, a little annoyed at being run off on.   
  
The boy smiles.   
  
D'Argo shakes his head at the resemblance. It's almost too much.  
  
John crosses his arms. "I know that look. I've only known you for a little over an arn and I know that look. Y'know why? Because I invented that like. Now, what did you do?"   
  
J.J reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out the two cooling rods.  
  
The adults stare at the boy in shock before John chokes up a little.  
  
"I'm so proud," the human says.   
  
"We should get going," Chiana says. "They're gonna kill us."   
  
"They may be too busy tending to Grayza," Aeryn tells them.  
  
"What?" D'Argo asks. "What happened?"  
  
"I shot him!" J.J says excitedly.   
  
John blinks and looks to Aeryn. "Already?"  
  
She shrugs. "I didn't even see him coming in until he shot her."   
  
"She dead?" Chiana asks.  
  
"No," Aeryn replies. "Just wounded. Which way is Lo'Lann?"   
  
"THERE! OVER THERE!"   
  
Behind them, a troop of Peacekeepers run their way.  
  
"Anyone else getting a fuzzy feeling of nostalgia?" John asks with a smirk.   
  
Chiana sighs. "Let's just run."   
  
TBC 


End file.
